Mama's Migraine

I hate head aches but a migraine is the WORST.

I don't get many of them so I don't really know how to manage them well.

This day I came home from work and put my robe on, pulled the hood over my face and waited it out.

 Cooper knew I was hurting... he spent the whole time quietly allowing me to rest.

He didn't ask for anything while I rested.  He just laid in the dark room with me and waited.

What a great dog I have.  I'm the luckiest woman I know.

Part 9 - Rainbow The Macaw

This is Rainbow the Macaw.  

He was on 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' for riding a motorcycle at speeds of up to 80 MPH.  He breaks the world record for the speeds they reach.

SSGT Tim Chambers

One of our wounded vets 

The man who owns him takes pictures for his blog. 

Here are some of the folks at the event with Rainbow.

One of the founding members of Jesse's chapter of the Veteran's Brotherhood 

Cooper wasn't really all that impressed.

Part 8 - Honoring The Veterans

The ceremony at the end was awesome.  

Cooper was exhausted.

He fell asleep in my arms while I was listening to the speech.

We're in the crowd here somewhere.  I think we were no farther back than the white tent in the middle.

Part 7 - Meeting The Military Mascot

I have to admit, I don't know the story about this dog.

I think Cooper got some of the story though.

Isn't he cute?!?!?

Part 6 - This Famous Man From Rolling Thunder

There is a man, SSGT Tim Chambers who participated this year at the Wounded Vet Run.  

He's well known for standing at attention and holding his salute for anywhere from 3 to 5 hours at the Rolling Thunder demonstration in Washington DC every Memorial Day.  

(See video here) 

This year he honored not only our veterans but some of the heros at our Boston Marathon Bombing.  I didn't get as many pictures as I had hoped but it was an honor for me and Cooper to ride by him and his partner as they saluted us this year.

Part 5 - Breath Taking Participation

I'm just going to post these pictures and explain them.  It's easier than trying to tell a story that ties them all together.

My friends Samantha and Rick

My friend Lee

I took this picture of all the bikes as far as you could see in front of me.

I took this picture of bikes behind me.
See the ambulance?  That's the end.

The end destination

Part 4 - Just a clip from a spectator's perspective

This is a video someone along the route took as the ride went on and on.  I don't know how long it took for 4,200 bikes to go by, but I'm betting it was WAY longer than this clip showed.

Cooper and I were not in this clip, but this is SOOOOOOOO worth watching.  The bikes just keep coming.  

(After I posted this, I heard that if you took video of the whole ride from the firs to the last bike, it would take about 45 minutes.)

Part 3 - Cooper's New Best Fan

Cooper met a great young rider.  Her name is Sarah, and she LOVES Cooper.

I gave her a 'Friends Of Cooper' patch for her riding jacket.

She gave Cooper a flower for his hair.  :)

Part 2 - Waiting For The Ride To Begin

As the riders registered  they all had to line up in the parking lots designated for this ride.  

We over flowed into other parking lots and streets that had to be blocked off to accommodate all the bikes.

I'm on my bike behind the guy on the right sitting on his bike in the red shirt.

These pictures can only speak for themselves.

I have no words big enough to explain the magnitude of this ride.

Part 1 - Wounded Vet Run

This ride took place in April.  It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to present it with all the pictures and videos.

It was an important day and WOW was I happy to have been able to make it this year.  (Last year my bike broke down right there in Boston)

There were over 4,200 motorcycles at this event.  We raised over $140,000 to help the wounded veterans who fought for our country.

It took all those bikes about 40 minutes to all get on the road, and 2 hours for all to reach the destination at the end.

This is the map of the 40 mile route we rode

This is a video of our departure as the ride began. 

Cruising

We're going out for a drive.

Cooper loves that he has his own seat in this car.  It's just him and me most of the time.

It's a perfect little car for us.